Filed under: Meal Planning
This past week was, well, a week. Nothing stood out. I did make a beanless steak chili (using stew meat) in the Crock-Pot over the weekend, but the spicing was too mild and I want to try it again before I post the recipe. I made a batch of chocolate chip blondies, too, which are too delicious to be in my kitchen — I cut them small, and I want to pop one in my mouth every time I pass by the container.
Although we’re expecting clear, sunny days in the mid-50s this week, I am in a bit of a winter funk and wanted comfort food. I’m kicking off the week with tuna noodle casserole, which I’m going to make a tiny bit healthier using whole wheat noodles, reduced-sodium peas, and reduced-fat cream of mushroom soup. At least, healthier considering 3 out of 4 ingredients come from a can.
Monday: Tuna noodle casserole, apple slices
Tuesday: Farro and Roasted Butternut Squash, roasted asparagus, challah rolls (This meal has been bumped for weeks, even though it sounds delicious to me. I am definitely making it this time, when my sister is visiting!)
Wednesday: Roasted chicken, Pan-Fried Gnocchi with Mushrooms & Brussels Sprouts
Thursday: Chicken noodle soup, steamed broccoli
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Order in or go out
Sunday: Triple Tomato Sauce with Ziti, fresh mozzarella, garden salad
For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.
March 8, 2010
I’ve finally got the house back in order after a snow storm that started last Thursday knocked out all our utilities for four full days. No heat, middle of winter. J. built a fire in our living room on Friday night, and we all slept around it trying to keep warm. The boys and I were fine, bundled under our blankets and wearing fleece. But J. barely slept, since he was up regularly keeping the home fires burning, literally. On Saturday we packed up and headed to my in-laws until power was restored. They took very good care of us; the boys had a great time there and were actually mad when our power finally came back on late Monday afternoon. All they wanted to do was go back to grandma and grandpa’s house! I was really ready to be home, though.
Other than a massive amount of paperwork — calendar updating, bill paying, form filling, etc. — we are back to normal now. And starting tomorrow I’ll be cooking again too. Lots of repeats from previous weeks on this menu, since we didn’t get to them during the power outage.
Monday: Grab what you can from the fridge (first night back in the house)
Tuesday: Order in pizza
Wednesday: Meatless Pasta Pie, steamed broccoli
Thursday: Farro and Roasted Butternut Squash, steamed green beans, challah
Friday: Dijon Egg Salad, challah, raw red pepper + carrot sticks
Saturday: Bean-less Chili (made with stew meat — I’m making it up as I go along), salad, corn muffins
Sunday: Order in
For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.
March 2, 2010
The boys were off from school last week, and had two nights’ worth of sleepovers at their grandparents’ houses. That enabled J. and I to slip away for a mid-week dinner date at Peter Luger’s in Brooklyn, which I think I enjoyed more for the fun of being out on a weeknight and coming home to an empty house than the food. Although, I am still thinking about the warm pecan pie with schlag (whipped cream).
The bit of cooking I did do was using new recipes: Chana Masala, a chickpea curry which is just bursting with spices and tastes great the next day too; and Hot & Sour Soup, which will remind you of the dish you’d get from a Chinese restaurant, but is easy enough to make in your own home.
This week I am looking forward to a little baking: I’m trying an Overnight Coffee Cake recipe to bring to a baby shower, and I may bake cookies for the boys as well.
Monday: Roasted chicken with carrots and onions, ciabatta rolls
Tuesday: Hot & Sour Soup (leftovers from the freezer), Bob’s Cold Sesame Noodles (I will leave some noodles plain for the boys), steamed broccoli
Wednesday: Order in pizza
Thursday: Farro and Roasted Butternut Squash, steamed broccoli, challah
Friday: Dijon Egg Salad, challah, garden salad
Saturday: Bean-less Chili (made with stew meat — I’m making it up as I go along), salad, corn bread (bumped from last week)
Sunday: Pan-Fried Gnocchi with Mushrooms & Brussels Sprouts, mac & cheese for the boys
For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.
February 21, 2010
The according-to-plan week I hoped for last Sunday was derailed by a couple of snow days. Aside from my baking inappropriate amounts of cookies and a batch of sweet-and-spicy nuts while snowed in, we were prepared for the storm and had plenty of real food to enjoy, along with a fire we kept going all day long.
I was especially pleased with the Easy Chicken Chili, Made with Leftovers. I had roasted chicken on Monday night, and chopped up the leftover meat to use in this chili on Tuesday. It was fantastic! I recommend it, even if you need to cook up some chicken just to make it.
On Saturday night, J. and I went out to Sonora in Port Chester for a Valentine’s dinner. Our food was fine, we enjoyed the evening, but neither of us felt any urge to rush back (especially since it’s a half hour away — might as well go into the city). We were crowded in between two tables upstairs, and the servers had trouble negotiating between these three tables (ours in the middle) which backed up to their kitchen/staging area. Also, and this is such a silly complaint: please don’t serve my sangria with a bendy straw! The sangria was actually lovely, with lots of fruit and not too much sweetness. But the plastic straw made me feel like I was anywhere but in a white tablecloth restaurant.
On Sunday J. dug a path through the snow to his smoker, and treated us to smoked beef ribs and burnt ends. It was a Valentine’s Day labor of love, to be sure, topped only by the fact that when I dragged myself into the kitchen that night to clean up from the chaos, I found he had already done it all while I was reading to the boys.
Monday: Chana Masala (chickpea curry), basmati rice, naan (bumped from last week)
Tuesday: Hot & Sour Soup, lo mein noodles, steamed broccoli
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Out to dinner
Friday: Chicken Soup (from freezer) with noodles, steamed green beans, challah
Saturday: Bean-less Chili (made with stew meat — I’m making it up as I go along), salad, corn bread
Sunday: Leftovers or order in or eat out
For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.
February 15, 2010
This week went awry early on, when A. came down with a mild virus and stayed home from school for a couple of days, which threw my schedule (including grocery shopping) off for the whole week. Other than a huge pot of chicken soup, I can’t think of anything I actually cooked. We ate soup, leftovers, ordered in pizza one night, and did just fine. We’re also in the middle of a busy weekend with both Saturday and Sunday dinners out of the house, so my stove must be wondering where we’ve been.
This coming week we’re celebrating a birthday on Monday, and I always like a reason to bake cake!
I realized this week that there’s another variable I need to consider while meal planning — do I have to run out briefly in the afternoon (say, to pick up a boy from a friends’ house nearby), and do I feel comfortable leaving the oven on while I go out for 15 minutes? The answer I came up with was no, I really don’t. Do you? (And yes, this is where the Crock-Pot shines!) I have to either plan to make things with long cooking times earlier in the day (like roasting a whole chicken), or not on days when, although I’m home, I have to run out briefly.
I’m hoping for a healthy week this week, which everything going pretty much according to schedule.
Monday: Roasted chicken, roasted butternut squash, sauteed spinach, challah, Devil Dog Cake
Tuesday: White Chicken Chili, tortilla chips, crudite
Wednesday: Make Your Own Pizza, salad
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Chana Masala (chickpea curry), basmati rice, naan
Saturday: Out to eat
Sunday: J. is going to smoke something… I’m voting for ribs or brisket, Grilled Steak Fries, roasted Brussels sprouts
For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.
February 6, 2010
My stand-out recipe from last week is the Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup with Flanken (flanken is a cut of beef short ribs). I absolutely adored this dish, and although I’m the only one who has tried it so far, I promise it’s a great Crock-Pot recipe! It’s very flexible and could be made without meat as well.
I also made a Jack Daniel’s Cake with Buttered Whiskey Glaze for my dad’s birthday, and whoa was it potent! I’d like to make it for a Super Bowl party, but I might be kicked out if I don’t bring the Chocolate Trifle I bring every year.
Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup with Flanken (from the freezer), French bread, garden salad
Wednesday: Crock Pot Chicken Vindaloo, rice, Cauliflower Poppers, naan (store-bought)
Thursday: Spaghetti with meatballs (from the freezer), garden salad
Friday: Roasted chicken, steamed broccoli/cauliflower mix, challah
Saturday: Order in
Sunday: At a Super Bowl party
For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.
February 1, 2010
Both my boys ate the Meatless Pasta Pie last week, which definitely makes it the stand-out meal!
Not much in the mood for experimenting this week, so I’m keeping it simple and using stuff up that I have in house.
Monday: Spaghetti & spinach meatballs (beef + chopped spinach — from my freezer), garden salad
Tuesday: Make your own pizza (I bought pre-made whole wheat dough)
Wednesday: My birthday! Dinner out
Thursday: Slow Cooker Coq au Vin (trying a new recipe), steamed broccoli, challah rolls
Friday: Man in the Moon or eggs poached in Slow Cooker Ratatouille (from freezer)
Saturday: Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup with Flanken (no ham hocks here!)
Sunday: Order in
For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.
January 24, 2010
The stand-out recipe this past week was Sweet Potato Rolls, which solidified my feeling that I do just fine working with yeast. I still have one yeast packet left in the house, so there is some more bread in my immediate future. These rolls were very good at room temperature the next day, a little bit like Hawaiian bread. Perfect for breakfast.
I also had several friends tell me that they’ve made the Slow Cooker Vegetable Barley Soup, either in a Crock-Pot or on the stove. It seems universally loved and freezes very well, so if you’re looking for a soup recipe this week it’s a hearty, well-reviewed one to try.
J. is off today, so we’re thinking of taking the kids to dinner at Rain Water Grill, a new restaurant in Hastings opened by a couple we know from our town.
Monday: Eat out
Tuesday: Pasta Pie, garden salad, rolls
Wednesday: Baked chicken drumsticks, roasted cauliflower, mashed sweet potato
Thursday: Slow Cooker Ratatouille, fresh mozzarella, challah
Friday: Dinner out at a school event
Saturday: Dinner out (to celebrate my birthday next week!)
Sunday: Crock-Pot short ribs (maybe Orange-Hoisin), rice, sauteed spinach
For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.
January 18, 2010
Cooking was effortless last week, and that’s because I only cooked dishes I know by heart. There is a real peace in finding your hands doing what they’re supposed to without stopping to reread a line of a new recipe, or wondering if you’re going to get dinner on the table on time. I liked it, and although I do enjoy trying new recipes (there are several this week), I need to remember to keep the simple stuff like baked chicken, meatballs, lasagna, and so on as regulars on my menu.
Speaking of lasagna, A. ate it for the first time last week, after spending most of the meal being very skeptical of how saucy it might be. Once he tried it, he gobbled up several small servings. It makes me so happy when he tries new foods and enjoys them, and I think it makes him feel grown-up, too.
Also, if you are like me and can barely chop half an onion without crying like a baby, take a look at the onion goggles I got last week. I’ve used them several times since then and I remain amazed at how much easier food prep can be when I’m not suffering through onion fumes.
Monday: Dijon Egg Salad, bagels, sliced tomatoes, Slow Cooker Vegetable Barley Soup (from the freezer)
Tuesday: Roasted chicken, Cauliflower Rice, roasted Brussels sprouts
Wednesday: Sweet Potato Rolls, assorted cheese (Cheese Plate to Ring in 2010 leftovers), garden salad
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Chicken Soup (from the freezer) with noodles, steamed broccoli, challah
Saturday: Eat out or bring in
Sunday: J.’s Favorite Goulash, egg noodles, veggies
For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.
January 10, 2010
I have really enjoyed the last couple of weeks — the end of the year is always particularly restful since everyone seems to check out of real life for a little while, and it doesn’t feel like there’s a tremendous amount of catching up to do once everything resumes after the new year. Plus it was great having J. home on vacation, we had lots of fun with the boys, and I am happy to report that I am finally getting a tiny bit better at Mario Kart (we got a Wii for Hanukkah).
We ate out a few times: Red Hat Bistro in Irvington (delicious, and I especially loved their special Manhattan on the rocks); Hill Country in Manhattan (the boys gobbled up the chicken and declared it “even better than yours, Mom”); and BLT Steak in White Plains (always a favorite of ours, especially because of the hen of the woods mushrooms).
I cooked a tiny bit, too, not counting all the water I boiled for pasta. I made Hot Spinach-Artichoke Dip (just OK), my Baked Ziti, and grapes rolled in goat cheese with a toasted pistachio crust (soggy after sitting in the fridge overnight) for New Year’s Eve at our friends’ house. But the standout for NYE was the Sugar-and-Spice Candied Nuts from Smitten Kitchen. They are super-simple to make, but taste like something you stood watching over with a candy thermometer all afternoon. Addictive and delicious — they never even made it into a bowl on New Year’s, we just all ate them out of the bag.
Easing back into routine, I’m cooking food that I could do in my sleep — no new recipes this week, but plenty of protein and veggies to counteract the crazy eating since Thanksgiving.
Monday: Roasted chicken drumsticks, peas, baked potatoes
Tuesday: Lemon-baked chicken breasts, sauteed spinach, Israeli couscous
Wednesday: Cheese lasagna, spinach salad with mushrooms, Italian bread
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Chicken Soup with noodles, steamed broccoli, challah
Saturday: Out to dinner
Sunday: J. grills if weather permits
For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.
January 3, 2010
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I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two boys, ages 4 and 6, and husband. Trying to feed my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more 